Crypto Data Requests Spiked to ATH in 2022

Coinbase published its fourth Transparency Report highlighting crypto data requests from government agencies and law enforcement bodies.

The report lists the many criminal, civil, and administrative requests about specific accounts and transactions from authorities in different nations.

The report highlighted the total number of requests to the exchange from law enforcement and other agencies in the year stood at 12,320.

Coinbase Overwhelmed in Inquiries

Over the reporting period of 2022, there was around a 66% increase in these data requests against last year. The absolute statistics in this year’s report are slightly higher than last year’s report, with a stated user base of 108 million global customers.

The U.S. topped the list of countries when it comes to the volume of requests, with 5,304 submissions. The U.K., Germany, Spain, and France followed the U.S. in that order.

With 1,744 requests, the U.K. had the most law enforcement and agency requests of any nation after the U.S. Nearly 80% of inquiries from law enforcement came from the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Spain combined.

Most Requests Involve Criminality

Notably, 57% of inquiries from law agencies came from countries other than the United States. This was an increase of 6% from the prior year. Twenty-one other nations, including 11 that filed multiple requests, sent petitions for the first time in 2022. These countries include names like Andorra, Argentina, and Brazil.

Countries like Spain, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and Ireland had over 100% increases in the number of law enforcement and agency inquiries, the Coinbase report found.

In the past, law enforcement organizations from abroad and in the U.S. made most of the requests that were received about situations involving criminal enforcement.

That said, Coinbase asserts that, depending on the specifics of each request, the company may contest governmental and law enforcement inquiries.

Countries Speed Up Crypto Regulations

Recently, SEC Chair Gary Gensler came under political pressure on his approach to overseeing the sector. However, the agency’s duties in equity with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are yet to be clarified in the U.S. to further regulatory action.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) plans to outline areas where policymakers could benefit from “greater clarity” before enacting regulations and provide a schedule for implementing its initial recommendations on global crypto regulation in the upcoming months. Notably, FSB is an international body to monitor the global system of finance.

Meanwhile, per Fabio Panetta, a member of the board of the European Central Bank, crypto assets might not disappear. Hence, Panetta called for additional regulations to safeguard investors and the global market stability. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has reportedly approved a measure to alter the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance.

Therefore, after the FTX contagion, regulators across the globe seem to be in action.